Star Trek: Astra
by ascioli8
Summary: After losing their Captain in the Battle of Cardassia, the final battle of the Dominion War, the Astra is ready to resume normal duty. However, with the arrival of a new Captain with a secret mission, who knows how normal "normal duty" could be.
1. Chapter 1

Captain's Log, Stardate 53111.7 I have been assigned the command of the Astra, a refitted Nova-class science vessel that was heavily damaged during the war with the Dominion. I am inheriting the majority of its crew, including their newly promoted first officer. Admiral Wendy has requested my presence to discuss our upcoming mission.

Captain Ayane Hara sat cross-legged in the chair across from Admiral Wendy's desk. "How do you expect me to take those inexperienced officers and pull off such a mission?" Her voice was calm but stern with a slight bite. It had been a year since Hara had lost her previous command, the Gemini, during the last stand against the Dominion. She was ready for her next assignment but the Admiral's ideas were outlandish. She wanted Hara to pull off a highly classified and important mission with a tiny Nova-class ship. A science ship. To make it worse, the ship was filled with a young crew, fresh off the loss of their own Captain.

Admiral Wendy sighed and leaned across the desk, her hands clasped tightly together. "Yes, the Astra is run by a young crew but they have suffered a trauma and need guidance. They have proven that they are quite capable. They just need a strong helping hand. Your hand."

Hara's dark almond shaped eyes narrowed. "You are asking me to take a ship full of traumatized Ensigns into a remote area of space to do work to break a treaty that they probably know little about. They don't need my hand. They need divine intervention."

"Captain, you know that things at the Neutral Zone are not going well. The Romulans faced a coup d'etat last month and we don't know where this new Praetor stands. Rumor has it that he might not approve of our wartime pact. Starfleet Intelligence has told us that they are building up a fleet. We want to be prepared," Admiral Wendy informed her.

"Yes, because the last time Starfleet tried this, it worked so well." Hara was a stern woman, born and raised in San Francisco to two Japanese Admirals. She had no problem calling out what she considered stupidity. It was what most Admirals thought was her strongest asset as a Captain.

"What happened last time, won't happen again," Wendy assured her.

"I am sure that you told that Captain the same exact thing…" Hara mumbled. "And if someone finds out and we are attacked, say by the Romulans, what will a little science vessel be able to do?"

"We have refitted the Astra with more weaponry, a better warp drive and increased sensor and shield capabilities. The ship is like the Defiant, small and powerful. This time, however, Starfleet has made sure that her energy output isn't through the roof. A standard cloak should hide the ship's energy signature," Wendy reassured her.

"But -"

"This is an order, Captain. No more room for debate. You will take command of the Astra and complete this mission. This is top secret and is only to be shared with key essential personnel. If you don't have to tell your first officer, then don't tell him. Do you understand me?"

Hara looked down on the floor. She truly had no choice but to follow out this mission. Based on the crew roster, half of the remaining crew were cadets that were brought into active duty due to the war. She was stuck but had to make the best of it. The least she could try would be to barter with the Admiral. "Fine," she said. "But I want Lieutenant Commander Soral as my chief Engineer. He served me well on the Gemini and if I am going to trust anyone on this mission, it will be that Vulcan."

"You can have him. Any other requests?"

"I want Dr. T'Meni as well. I don't want a green doctor."

"Done. Any other requests?"

Hara thought for a moment and shook her head.

"Alright, dismissed."

Hara stood up to leave and was almost out the door before she turned around to face Wendy. "Just don't say I didn't warn you."

* * *

First Officer's Log, Stardate 53117.1, We are preparing to leave Spacedock after months of repair and refit. I am nervous yet excited to get underway on my first mission as a first officer. Captain Hara comes aboard today and I am hoping that she can provide some answers about our mission objectives. Starfleet was vague in my orders.

Newly promoted Lieutenant Commander Christopher Thomas walked slowly through the halls of the Astra. Just months ago, the ship had been falling apart. Bulkheads were hanging, debris was covering the floors and blood was smeared on the walls. Bodies of his friends, many of whom he considered family, were laying throughout the corridors. He would never forget what happened on this ship and the whole incident would haunt him for the rest of his life.

Captain James had died during the initial attack by the Dominion during the Battle of Cardassia and Commander Lefort had to take command. Rumor had it that after barely getting the ship out alive, Lefort had a nervous breakdown during the refit and quit Starfleet. Thomas had been the ship's helmsman and due to his gallant efforts during the battle, Starfleet decided to promote him to the ship's First Officer. Reluctantly, he took the job.

Thomas rounded the corner and entered Transporter Room 2, where he awaited the arrival of his new Captain, Ayane Hara. He knew little of his new Captain except for the fact that she was very strict and she demanded the respect of the officers she oversaw. He missed Captain James and knew that ship moral was low since his passing as everyone loved and respected the Captain. The remaining crew, about twenty-seven of eighty, was very nervous about the changes a new Captain could bring to a ship as tight-knit as the Astra. Now, as First Officer, he had a duty to see these things and bring them to the Captain.

Since most of the crew had not arrived yet, the Transporter Room was empty. Thomas situated himself behind the controls and clicked his combadge. "Astra to McKinley Station. Ready for transport."

"Confirmed. Transporter engaged," a small voice echoed back.

The beginnings of the transporter beam appeared on the pad, widened and dissipated as Captain Hara materialized. She immediately walked off of the transporter pad with an air of confidence. Hara's salt and pepper colored hair was pulled back tightly into the standard Starfleet bun and her uniform was crisply ironed. Her face was sternly set and showed none of the nervousness that was coursing through Thomas at the moment.

Thomas stood at attention. "Lieutenant Commander Christopher T. Thomas, reporting to duty, Captain."

Hara merely glanced at him and then headed toward the doors. "Come along, Commander. We have much to do."

Thomas's jaw nearly dropped. Normally, upon arriving, it was custom for the Captain to greet in return and have him return to an at ease posture. The Captain would then be escorted to the Bridge to meet the Command Crew. But Captain Hara clearly was not following protocol. Thomas hurried out the door behind her and easily caught up. Next to him, Hara was tiny, barely coming up to his shoulder but she radiated authority that made her seem bigger than she truly was.

"Has Commander Soral arrived?" she asked. They entered the turbolift at the end of the corridor and started toward the bridge.

"The Chief Engineer? No ma'am." The doors whooshed open and the two stepped out onto the bridge.

"Captain on the bridge," the calm voice of Lieutenant Asath Peles called out. Peles, an Andorian, was the ship's Tactical Officer as well as the Second Officer. He had been on the Bridge of the Astra when the Dominion attacked. The two of them and Lefort were the only bridge officers to survive that final battle with the Jem'Hadar.

Hara seemed to ignore Peles and headed straight to her Ready Room. Thomas signaled to the bridge crew to be at ease and merely shrugged at Peles's confused face. He followed Hara into her Ready Room.

She was already seated at the desk, thumbing around her computer, not wasting one second. "Please take a seat, Commander. I don't mean to be so blunt but I am on a tight schedule from Starfleet and we need to get this ship out of space dock as soon as possible."

"Yes, sir. Is there anything you need me to do in order to make this happen?"

"When does the rest of the crew arrive?" Hara inquired, still not looking up from her computer console.

"About half of the crew is onboard. Senior staff wise, Commander Soral and Dr. T'Meni's transport from Vulcan will be arriving at 1700 hours. Lieutenants Peles and Taylor are already on board. Ensign Merra and Lieutenants Rogers and Ryan arrive early in the morning, sir." Thomas sat erect in his chair.

Hara never looked up from her computer. "And the components that Starfleet was supposed to deliver?"

"They have not arrived. They are scheduled to arrive tomorrow morning at the latest."

"Inform me when they have arrived and tell Commander Soral to report to me immediately. Dismissed."

* * *

Lieutenant Commander Soral was no stranger to the inside of Starfleet ships. In forty years, he had served on eleven different starships. He was the Chief Engineer for two of them, the last one being the Gemini, a Galaxy class starship. He was not the least bit surprised when Captain Hara requested him to be her Chief Engineer on the Astra. However, he was not used to running such a small ship with such a small crew. Soral didn't understand the nature of this assignment. It was an illogical placement for Captain Hara after such a long and distinguished career.

After landing in the shuttlebay, he and Dr. T'Meni disembarked and were greeted by whom Soral logically concluded based on the pips on the red collar of his uniform, was the First Officer of the ship. The man was taller and blonde, younger than Soral would have thought.

"Lieutenant Commander Soral, welcome aboard the Astra. My name is Lieutenant Commander Christopher T. Thomas, First Officer. Captain Hara has ordered me to escort you to the bridge."

Soral nodded slowly. Logically, the Captain would want to brief him about their upcoming mission. She had been abrupt in her initial report. "And Dr. T'Meni?"

"I will have one of the Crewmen escort her to her quarters and then Sickbay. There, she can meet her staff."

Thomas and Soral headed out of the shuttlebay, into the turbolight and up to the bridge. Soral was impressed by the efficiency of the bridge, despite its small size. The conn was set in the front and slightly behind it and to the side were the operations and tactical stations. Much like an Intrepid-class ship, the Captain's and First Officer's chairs were sunk slightly. Behind them, was a wide display and on either side were the science and engineering consoles. Thomas took his place at the First Officer's chair while Soral headed to the Captain's Ready Room. He pressed the chime and was immediately allowed to enter.

"Lieutenant Commander Soral, reporting for duty as requested, sir," Soral said once he had approached the Captain's desk.

Hara immediately stood at the sight of him and she gave him a small smile. "Welcome aboard, my old friend. Please have a seat."

Soral obliged.

"What do you think of Lieutenant Commander Thomas?" Hara inquired.

"He is quite young. Younger than I would have thought and appears to be quite eager."

"Yes. Unfortunately, most of the crew is younger than I would have liked. Most of the officers have not had more than five years experience. Thomas has been serving for a little less than a decade and it doesn't seem like anyone else aboard this ship can top that."

"Then it is logical that you brought me aboard. These officers will need experience and it is best to have a seasoned officer to guide them," Soral remarked. "Captain, you mentioned that Starfleet had a special assignment for the Astra. May I inquire about the purpose of our mission?"

Hara's angular face went pale. "Our mission is somewhat interesting yet dangerous. Starfleet Command is worried about the stability of the Romulan Empire as well as how easily the Dominion was able to locate and penetrate our ships. They have ordered us to Bajor."

"Captain, if they have ordered us to protect Deep Space 9 and the wormhole, a Nova-class starship will not be very good in a fight if faced with Dominion rebuttal." Soral would not normally be so blunt with a commanding officer but his relationship with Hara of many years warranted the logic.

"Our phasers have been updated and strengthened. Our torpedo launchers have been increased from three to six and we have been given an emergency load of quantum torpedoes. But we are not orbiting Bajor to protect the station." Hara pulled a padd out of her desk. "This is to remain top secret. Not even Lieutenant Commander Thomas knows and you are to only involve officers as needed. Soral, we are here to build something that could shift the power in the Alpha Quadrant." Hara slid the padd across the desk.

Soral picked up the padd and started to read it. After two or so lines, Soral lifted a slanted eyebrow. "This is very interesting, indeed."

* * *

"Welcome to the Astra," a strange voice called out as the airlock door slid open. Lieutenant Junior Grade Lucas Ryan stepped through the airlock to meet an extremely blue man.

Lieutenant Asath Peles was a true Andorian - tall and lean, powder blue skin and antenna, closely cropped white hair. His antenna, which extended out from his forehead, twitched and moved slightly at unknown stimuli. A warm smile was on his face.

Peles extended his hand to Ryan, following Human custom. "I am Lieutenant Asath Peles, Tactical Officer and Second Officer. Welcome aboard."

Ryan matched his smile. "Lieutenant Junior Grade Luke Ryan, Helmsman."

Peles extended his arm down the corridor. "This way, Lieutenant. I was assigned to escort you to your quarters and then to the bridge."

Ryan didn't have time to respond as Peles was already headed down the corridor and was almost out of sight. Peles had grabbed one of his suitcases and it was swinging at his side. Ryan wasn't short but found that his legs were much shorter than Peles's and had a hard time keeping up with his long stride.

Ryan rounded the corridor and nearly bumped into Peles as he had stopped in front of another Starfleet officer. The woman peered around Peles and her face immediately darkened.

The young woman was short and lean with beautiful blonde hair. Ryan's face erupted into a big, goofy smile. Ryan hadn't seen Lieutenant Junior Grade Nicolette Taylor since they had parted ways from the Academy, leaving a three-year relationship in the dust.

"Lieutenant, this is Lieutenant Junior Grade Lucas Ryan, Helmsman. And, this is Lieutenant -" Peles began.

"Nik and I are well-acquainted, if you know what I mean" Ryan interrupted, giving her a little wink. At that comment, Taylor scowled at him.

Peles glanced at both of them with confusion and his antenna twitched. "Where are you headed, Lieutenant?"

"To Transporter Room 2. Cody is coming back on board and I thought he would like to see a friendly face," Taylor responded, dropping some of the formality. "If you would excuse me, sir. Lieutenant Ryan." Taylor ducked around them and disappeared down the corridor.

Ryan watched her move down the hall and then turned back to Peles. "Now that is a sight that I never expected to see again."

Peles didn't seem phased. "This way, Lieutenant."

* * *

Captain's log, Stardate 531120.6. All of the crew has boarded and Soral has informed me that all of the components requested and needed for his work have arrived. We are getting ready to be under way and are scheduled to depart this afternoon.

"Captain on the bridge!"

Captain Hara walked over from her ready room to her chair on the bridge. Thomas was already at his chair, standing at attention. "At ease. Commander Thomas, status of our departure?"

Thomas stiffly dropped into his chair. "Ready for departure. Awaiting your command, sir." He was unaccustomed to leading a ship out of spacedock instead of flying it, something he would have to get used to if he was going to be a decent First Officer.

"Alright Commander, take us out."

Thomas swallowed hard. "Bridge to Engineering. Prepare to depart McKinley Station and to go to warp."

"Engineering here. Standing by for warp, sir," Soral's measured voice came over the comm channel.

"Lieutenant Taylor, hail McKinley station." Thomas waited for Taylor to nod before answering. "McKinley Station, this is the Astra. Requesting permission for departure."

"Departure approved Astra. Fly safe."

Thomas leaned forward in his chair. "Alright, Mr. Ryan, thrusters only, take us out of spacedock."

"Aye, sir. Thrusters ahead." Ryan's fingers moved daintily over the controls and took them out of spacedock.

"Mr. Ryan, set a course for Bajor. Warp three."

"Aye, sir." Ryan inputted the command.

"Engage."

The Astra bolted forward, ready to start its mission.


	2. Chapter 2

"Cody Rogers!" Lieutenant Junior Grade Nicolette Taylor called from her table in the Mess Hall. The ship had arrived at Bajor and Captain Hara had dismissed everyone who didn't work on the Alpha Shift. That left Lieutenant Commander Thomas on the bridge. Taylor normally worked the Beta shift with Lieutenant Peles. Lieutenant Junior Grade Ryan was in charge of the Gamma Shift.

Lieutenant Junior Grade Cody Rogers was the ship's Chief of Security. Rogers had been a lieutenant on the security force when the Dominion attacked the ship. He had been promoted at the death of his Chief and was injured in the line of duty when the Jem'Hadar had boarded the ship. He had spent the months of shore leave recovering from multiple broken ribs, a broken collar bone and second degree burns at a Starfleet Medical facility.

Rogers headed over to the table where Nikki Taylor and Asath Peles were sitting. He had missed them in the months since the Astra limped into spacedock.

Taylor stood up and wrapped her arms around Rogers in a hug. Her head rested on his chest. "We missed you Cody."

Peles stood up in greeting, too. "Welcome back."

Rogers flashed them a bright smile. "I missed you guys too. Have you guys seen Chris?"

Taylor gave him a grimace. "He's on the bridge. Seems that this transition to First Officer might be taking him away from us for a while."

"He is taking this new job very seriously," Peles agreed.

"I'm sure he will be back in here with us soon," Rogers reassured them. "Any one meet the pilot?"

Nikki's grimace returned again and Peles gave a short laugh. "Yeah, he's Nikki's ex-boyfriend."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. I spent three years with that jerk. Dumped me for a good time with a red head. Never looked back or thought about him since and then there he is walking down the hallway as if he owned the place." Taylor was in her sixth year of service and all of them had been on the Astra.

"Well he has to be good if Hara requested him. She has quite the record. Captain James served for half as long as her," Cody remarked.

"If she even had a choice. Who wants to serve on a ship full of ghosts?" Taylor grumbled.

"Speaking of Hara and the ship. Does anyone know what we are actually doing at Bajor?" Peles asked.

The three of them looked at each other in silence. No one knew their mission. Before anyone could make another comment, a petite Orion woman came up to them. She was a deep green with black curly hair. Her teeth shone white against her skin.

"Hello...Lieutenants. I'm Ensign Merra, Chief Science Officer. Mind if I join you?" she asked in a velvety tone.

Merra was the first Orion in Starfleet and the first Orion any of them had ever seen in person. She was also a recent Academy graduate. Only on a ship the size of the Astra was an Ensign in charge of an entire science department.

Peles and Rogers's mouths gaped open at the sight of her and Taylor gave them a quick kick from under the table. "Of course, sit down. I'm Lieutenant Junior Grade Nikki Taylor. This is Lieutenant Asath Peles and Lieutenant Junior Grade Cody Rogers," Nikki said.

Merra gladly took the chair and started shoveling her dinner into her mouth. "You know, I keep asking people about what happened around here. You know, before the war. But the only answers I get are that they weren't onboard or that they don't know what happened which I think is a total lie," she rambled.

Peles, Rogers and Taylor all froze at the same time. Nobody wanted to recall what had happened, least of all Cody Rogers. He was still attending counseling to help him deal with the aftermath of his injury.

"It's almost like they are afraid to talk about it. Their eyes turn away and they quickly leave me and I know that it's not because of me being Orion because those reactions are on a whole different level."

Still no one commented. Rogers's face was pale and Taylor had a shiver go down her spine. Peles's antenna twitched uncontrollably.

Merra seemed to catch on that this was not the group to discuss this with as her next fork full stopped inches away from her mouth. "Omigod, I am so sorry."

Taylor grasped Rogers's hand. "Yeah, so are we."

* * *

Lieutenant Commander Soral busied himself with one of the compartments outside of Main Engineering on Deck 7. He had begun setting up the necessary equipment by himself, leaving his Assistant Chief, Lieutenant Margo Fuller in charge of day-to-day operations of maintaining the ship. Soral was following Captain Hara's strictly and had not of yet needed to include other crew members on the classified mission.

Soral inventoried his equipment and was able to find the correct metals to construct the device. However, he was missing one key component. He marked the component down on his padd and clicked his combadge. "Commander Soral to Captain Hara. Your presence is needed down in the classified compartment."

* * *

Captain Hara entered the compartment on Deck 7 to find Soral bent over his work. "You called Commander?"

Soral lifted his head slightly and lifted an eyebrow. "Yes, Captain. I am in need of this component." He handed her the padd.

Hara quickly breezed through it and handed it back. "Soral, I am not an Engineer. What do you need and why do you need it?"

"To completely build this device, I will need tetryons. Romulan ships create their own artificial singularities to harvest these tetryons but our engine design does not allow us to do so. I either need a Romulan nullifier core and then have to tie it into the ship's systems or we need to find a quantum singularity to harvest the particles ourselves. In that case, I will need tetryon stabilizer units to keep the particles contained in subspace."

"And I am guessing we do not have tetryon stabilizer units onboard and asking for them would be a red flag," Hara formulated.

"Yes, sir. We will need to find the parts elsewhere."

"What happens if we house the particles using what we have aboard the ship?"

"There would be a high probability of the particles destabilizing and destroying the Astra."

Hara thought for a minute and clicked her combadge. "Hara to the Bridge."

"Lieutenant Peles here."

"Lay in a course for Farius Prime, warp 2. Assemble the Senior Staff. We need to have a meeting."

* * *

Ensign Merra got off the turbolift and headed into the conference room. This was the first meeting of the Senior Staff and Merra was nervous. She had already gotten on the wrong foot with Lieutenant Peles, the Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Taylor, the Operations Officer, and Lieutenant Rogers, Chief of Security. She didn't need to make any more mistakes and alienate the rest of the Senior Staff.

The conference room was already full when she entered and everyone turned to see her. Merra was used to attracting attention due to being an Orion woman. Most men found her attractive without her even trying to appeal to them. She hated that about herself. Her mother, unknowingly pregnant, had been bought by a Human trader and he had released her from her bonds of slavery. Merra grew up in a Federation colony. She and her mother were the only Orions in the colony and it made her stick out in school. That sense of not belonging followed her into Starfleet.

Captain Hara sat at the head of the table with Lieutenant Commander Thomas to her right and Lieutenant Commander Soral to her left. Once Merra sat down, Hara cleared her throat and began the meeting. "As many of you may have noticed by now, we have broken out of orbit from Bajor and are headed to Farius Prime. We need to buy a component for an instrument that Commander Soral is building."

"Captain, if I may ask, why can't we requisition it from Starfleet?" Thomas asked

"That is classified."

"Then what is Commander Soral building? Maybe we can find the component on Bajor or another Federation planet." Thomas said.

Soral answered for the Captain. "That is highly classified."

"The mission is need to know only, Commander. And right now, you do not need to know the full extent of the mission. On Farius Prime, we are looking for a tetryon stabilizer unit. I'm sure that the Orion Syndicate will have one," Hara continued.

Merra gulped. She knew where this was going.

"Since it is highly frowned upon for Starfleet to negotiate with the Orion Syndicate, this will be an undercover mission. The away team will be transported outside of the city. The Astra will remain on the outer edge of the system." Hara turned to Ensign Merra. "Ensign, do you know what a tetryon stabilizer unit looks like?"

"Yes of course, Captain," Merra answered. Her specialty in the Academy had been physics.

"Good. Commander Soral will need to remain on board. Ensign Merra, you will need to identify the device. Lieutenant Rogers, you will also be on the away mission. Commander Thomas, you will lead it. You can use some of the antimatter from the stores to trade," Hara ordered.

"How many units do we need, ma'am?" Merra asked.

"As many as you can find. I must remind you all that if anyone from the Syndicate finds out that you are Starfleet, they will interrogate you and then most likely kill you. We will not be able to help you."

* * *

Taylor waited for everyone to clear the room but her and Thomas. Once the room was empty, Thomas visibly relaxed in his seat.

"I take it that you have no idea about this mission?" she asked.

Thomas shot her a glare. Of course, he didn't and that was why he was upset. How was he supposed to do his job if he didn't know the purpose of their mission? Normally, first officers were privy to this sort of information and Captain Hara had shut down his requests right in front of the crew.

"Chris…" Taylor began as she scooted closer to him. She reached out to touch his arm but he backed off.

"We can't do this Nikki. Not now," Thomas said, putting his head in his hands. "We have a new Captain that won't look the other way like James did. Plus with the promotion...no we can't."

Taylor leaned back in her chair, stunned. Before the ship had sustained the major casualties, she and Chris had been close, too close for Starfleet's policy of non-fraternization between officers. They had both been a different rank but did not report to each other so Captain James had let their relationship slide, especially if they continued to keep it quiet. But, apparently, the non-fraternization rule meant something to Chris now. "But-"

"No, Nikki. We have to be done."

Taylor stood up, hurt. She wanted to say more but she couldn't. She had been serving on this ship for all of the six years of her career, with him. For those six years, they had been together for two years and he had promised never to hurt her. But here he was, hurting her. She abruptly turned around and walked out of the room.

* * *

"I can't believe I have to wear this," Ensign Merra whined. She, Rogers and Thomas were in Transporter Room 1, waiting for Captain Hara and Lieutenant Commander Soral to brief them. Merra was wearing a trench coat wrapped tightly around her body.

"I know that it is not ideal but we have to keep our cover. We are on a planet crawling with Orion Syndicate members. If they see an Orion woman dressed in regular clothes, they will know it is a ruse," Thomas reassured her.

Rogers nodded in agreement and picked up the antimatter. "Now, remember who we are. Knowing the history of your alias is key to pulling off an undercover mission. Now, Commander, what is your backstory?"

"My name is Alan Locke but my friends call me Al. I had worked on a freighter all my life but after the Dominion War, I took to scavaging old Dominion wreckage and selling the components, including weapons. Now I am after a tetryon stabilizer unit for one of my clients," Thomas rattled off.

"Great. My name is Jason Carmichael and I am your partner. We had worked on the freighter together. I took to the freighting business after my father died in Starfleet. I find Starfleet pointless and would never do business with them since I blame them for my father's death. Ensign?" Rogers said.

Merra cleared his throat. "I am no one, a slave. Mr. Locke bought me on Rigel IV a couple months ago to serve him. I do not speak unless spoken to."

"And how will you communicate to us if we found the right part?" Thomas questioned.

"I will whisper in the Commander's ear."

At that moment, Captain Hara and Lieutenant Commander Soral entered the room. Soral took over the controls for the transporter. "Now, make sure that you get the correct part. We don't need to have to come back here or find another trading outpost," Hara instructed.

"Yes ma'am."

All three of them climbed aboard the transporter pad but Soral put a hand up. "Ensign, you will need to remove the robe before transport."

Merra nodded and took off the cloak, revealing herself. She was wearing the typical outfit of an Orion slave girl: a bikini like garment that showed every inch of her body. Merra had never felt as exposed and degraded in her entire life. Not only was she uncomfortable, but she was getting a little bit chilled. Thomas and Rogers's eyes gravitated toward her and then down, trying to be discreet.

"Alright, energize."


	3. Chapter 3

The marketplace was packed full of merchants and customers, products and junk. From under his sleeve, Lieutenant Junior Grade Cody Rogers's tricorder scanned stall after stall, searching for the tetryon stabilizer unit. All he could do was pinpoint the general location of the device they were searching for. They would need Ensign Merra to identify it once they found the shop it was located in. After each stall, Rogers would give Lieutenant Commander Thomas a discreet head shake.

Ensign Merra was acting like a natural. She was gripping tightly to Thomas's arm, her hips swaying side to side. At each stall, Merra would stop and ruffle Thomas's hair, kiss him lightly on the cheek or nuzzle his neck. From behind, Rogers could barely keep his eyes off of her and Thomas could hardly stand it. Thomas knew she had to keep her cover in an area swarming with Orion Syndicate operatives and he hated how she had to degrade herself in such a manner. Frankly, he felt uncomfortable with her on his arm.

Finally, the tricorder picked up a heavy tetryon signature. Rogers tapped lightly on Thomas's shoulder and pointed to a small shop. The displays in the window were full of knick knacks and machine parts. Thomas stopped and led Merra into the shop. Rogers followed closely behind, tucking the Starfleet tricorder farther into his coat.

Merra discreetly surveyed the goods and whispered in Thomas's ear at the sight of the correct object. The stabilizer unit was a large clunky object, clearly an old part from some scrapped starship. Rogers headed to the counter to talk to the shopkeeper.

"My partner and I would like to purchase that tetryon stabilizer unit. How much will you take for it?"

The shopkeeper, a Humanoid of a race unknown to Rogers, greedily studied Merra. He gave Rogers a wicked grin. "Who is the pretty girl? Is she for sale?"

Rogers fumed, "No, she is not. Again, the stabilizer unit."

The man turned away from Rogers and directed his questions to Thomas. "What would you need a Romulan starship part for? A cloaking device?"

Thomas was taken back for a second. He really didn't actually know what the unit was for. "We are dealers. Whatever our client wants, we secure. We don't ask what they need it for," he pointed out. Now that the dealer mentioned it, he too wanted to know the purpose of the stabilizer unit.

"Then what do you have to barter?" the shopkeeper asked.

Rogers swung the case of antimatter onto the counter.

The shopkeeper's eyes nearly bulged from its sockets. "Deal."

* * *

Luaran 2 focused on the viewscreen apparatus secured to her forehead. The Founders had continually been sending cloaked ships through the wormhole to keep close eyes on the Federation after the armistice. They would slip in when the Federation would open the wormhole. But what was she seeing? A Federation ship? So near to an outpost with questionable ties with the Orion Syndicate? That wasn't very normal at all.

Luaran 2 turned to the Jem'Hadar First. "First, scan the vessel, tell me what we are up against."

First plugged the data into the computer. "Nova-class science vessel. Minimal weapons and defense systems. The ship is inferior to our own."

"Hmmm…" Luaran 2 pondered. "I wonder what they are up to. Maintain our distance. I want to follow that ship."

* * *

Lieutenant Commander Soral delicately hooked the tetryon stabilizer unit to the storage container. The machine hummed to life and Soral started a Level 1 Diagnostic. After several minutes, the scan came back clear. The device was functioning at maximum proficiency.

"Soral to Captain Hara."

"Hara here, Commander."

"The unit is ready for tetryons, sir."

"I will have the bridge set a course for the nearest singularity. Hara out."

* * *

Lieutenants Rogers, Taylor and Peles picked a table in the back corner of the Mess Hall, where barely anyone could hear them, and set their breakfast trays down. "So how was the away mission?" Nikki Taylor asked, stabbing a fork full of eggs. She hadn't been on one in months and was interested in any news.

"Went just as planned. No questions asked," Cody Rogers responded. He had fallen asleep as soon as his head had hit the pillow the night before. The mission had drained him. It had been his first away mission as Chief of Security and being solely responsible for the safety of Thomas and Merra had stressed him out in ways he hadn't predicted.

"How was Merra?" Asath Peles inquired. He had chosen Hari, an Andorian bread for his breakfast.

Rogers gave Peles a look. "Apparently, she really knows how to..you know.." Color rose to his cheeks and Taylor gave him a slap on the arm.

"Cody! Get that image of her out of your head. The poor girl is probably embarrassed. First away mission of her career is her having to act as a sexed up slave," Taylor exclaimed.

"You wouldn't be saying poor girl if you had seen the way she had hung on Chris," Rogers retorted.

Taylor's face darkened quickly. "What he does with other women is not my concern anymore."

Peles almost dropped his bread. "I take it that you and him are done?"

"Apparently, according to him, we can't be together anymore because of his promotion. It would just have been nice to know before this mission started so I could have gotten the hell off of this ship."

Rogers nodded. "Trust me, I didn't want to be on this ship either. When I found out that Commander Lefort wasn't getting the command, I almost requested a transfer. I didn't want to come back with so many of our friends...gone."

"I figured you would all stay on; that's why I stayed," Peles said. "So far, I haven't regretted it. Does anyone know what our mission is actually supposed to be?"

"No clue," Rogers responded, aggressively cutting into his waffle.

"I'm just confused as to what we need a tetryon stabilizer unit for. Starfleet rarely uses tetryons. They can be unpredictable," Taylor explained.

Rogers pondered that for a minute. "You know the shopkeeper on the surface mentioned something about a cloaking device when we asked him for the unit."

All three of their eyes met: Taylor's hazel ones, Rogers's brown ones and Peles's vibrant blue ones. There was no way that there could be a cloaking device onboard; it would break the Federation treaty with the Romulans. The three quickly pushed the thought out of their heads and returned quietly to their breakfast.

* * *

"Captain on the bridge!"

"At ease. Lieutenant Peles, status?" Hara asked as she took the Captain's chair.

Peles relieved the Crewman at Tactical and took back his station. "T-minus two minutes until arrival at the quantum singularity, ma'am."

"We are coming out warp, sir," the on duty helmsman reported.

Hara turned to Lieutenant Taylor. "Lieutenant, please scan the singularity for tetryons."

Taylor's fingers froze over her controls. She inputted the commands and reported to the Captain. "Aye, sir. Scans show positive for tetryons."

"Inform Commander Soral that he can begin collection. I will be in my ready room," Hara ordered and headed off the bridge.

Taylor looked over at Peles. He was looking her right in the eye. Why were they collecting tetryons?

* * *

Lieutenant Commander Christopher Thomas stepped out of the bathroom and stepped into a pair of sweatpants. He still wasn't used to the luxury of his new quarters. Instead of one room, Thomas had a bedroom and a living room. The bathroom had a sonic shower and a hydro shower. He was enjoying the use of a real shower with actual water, something he hadn't experienced since he had lived on Earth.

During the refit of the Astra, he had stayed aboard McKinley station, closely monitoring the situation. The Commodore had even let him assist in the rewiring of the helm controls.

Thomas ruffled his damp dark blonde hair with the towel and grabbed a PADD off of his nightstand. Before he could settle in, his door chimed. Without thinking, he signaled it to open and met his guest in the living room.

"Nikki," he breathed. Not the person he wanted to see. He reached for a shirt but forgot that yet again, his living room was not his bedroom anymore.

"Save it, Chris," Taylor said, settling in on the couch. "Not like there's anything to hide."

Thomas groaned. "What did I tell you about this not happening anymore?" He took the chair opposite from her, subconsciously crossing his arms in front of him.

"I'm not here to beg to be your girlfriend again if that's what you are worried about. I am here on ship's business," she explained.

"And this is the appropriate way to do it? You can meet with me before your shift."

"No, then it would have to be logged," Taylor said, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. She had just come off of her shift on the bridge and was still in her uniform. The yellow turtleneck with one filled and one hollowed pip peeked out from the collar. Even in the uniform, Thomas could not help but notice how beautiful she was.

Thomas sighed. "Then why are you here, Nikki?"

Taylor cleared her throat. "You promise not to tell anyone? Not even the Captain?"

"Yeah…"

"I'm here because a couple of us have a concern about our mission."

"You mean, you, Cody and Asath," Thomas clarified. He figured his old friends would be in on this. Before the battle, Thomas, Peles, Rogers and Taylor were inseparable.

"I'm not naming names," Taylor said, nervously. "But, do you know what our mission is yet?"

Thomas didn't say anything and Taylor seemed to gather that he was still completely out of the loop as well. If the Captain wasn't telling her first officer, then clearly whatever was going was of the utmost secrecy.

"Do you have any experience with tetryons?"

"Not completely," he said, honestly.

"Chris, tetryons are the major component for Romulan cloaking devices. We-I think that Captain Hara and Lieutenant Commander Soral are trying to build a cloaking device."

Thomas was silent. Taylor's hands tapped nervously at her side while she waited for a response.

"That's impossible. We don't have the equipment to create a singularity to capture the tetryons. The only way we could collect them would be-" He snapped his mouth shut. The tetryon stabilizer unit. If Soral could stabilize the tetryons and then somehow use the shields as a projection matrix, theoretically he would be able to create a cloaking effect to encircle the ship.

"What you are proposing Lieutenant is that Captain Hara and Lieutenant Commander Soral are planning on breaking the Treaty of Algeron. What you are proposing is treason."

Taylor looked down at her feet.

"I think you need to leave now."

* * *

"First, what is that Federation ship doing with a singularity?" Luaran 2 rhetorically asked. Of course, it would be a natural thing for a science vessel to study a singularity but added to their first stop, the Federation ship was being impractical. "Monitor them. I want to know what they are gathering."


	4. Chapter 4

\- Chapter 4 -

Lieutenant Commander Christopher Thomas opened a subspace channel, hoping to reach his father at home. Retired Lieutenant Tyler Thomas had been a longtime Starfleet Helmsman. He retired after an incident on his vessel, the Pegasus. He and a handful of others were the only survivors.

Tyler Thomas's face popped up on his screen. Thomas was a spitting image of his father; they shared the same hair, eyes and facial features. "What a surprise! What can I do for ya buddy?"

Thomas rolled his eyes. His father continually used his childhood nickname just for his reaction. "Just having some troubles and was wondering if you could help me out."

"It's not with that girl you brought home is it? Your mother and I really enjoyed meeting her. She is quite the sweetheart."

"Nikki and I are taking a break." Thomas said, awkwardly.

"Oh what a shame. We were hoping to see her again. Your mother swore that you would marry that girl."

"Dad…"

"Sorry...now what kind of troubles are you talking about bud?"

"Dad, when I was younger, I remember hearing you and Mom talking about a cloaking device or something like that. Shortly after, the Pegasus had its accident. I heard some rumors but I wanted to be sure that I was hearing the truth. I figured you would be the expert."

His father's face darkened. "I was wondering when you would ask me about that."

"So are the rumors true? Were you building a cloak?" Thomas urged.

"What I am about to tell you is classified. If Starfleet knew that I was sharing this information with you..."

"Of course. Your secret is safe with me."

"It's true. The Pegasus was experimenting with cloaking technology. A multiphasic cloak to be exact. They not only wanted us to be hidden but to enter a state where we could pass through objects," his father admitted. "There was an accident with the cloak that happened while it was online. The ship became fused in an asteroid, killing most of the crew. Only a few of us escaped."

"Starfleet Intelligence refused to prosecute your involvement?"

Tyler Thomas shook his head. "From what I gathered, they wanted to keep it quiet. They bought my silence with an early retirement and a nice piece of property in the middle of Australia." The Thomas family had deep ancestral roots in Australia.

Thomas leaned forward. "Dad, I need you to answer this question truthfully. Did you use tetryons and tetryon stabilizer units for the cloaking device?"

His father looked up to him and met his eyes. "Yes. Yes, we did."

* * *

The Holodeck doors on Deck 4 opened wide to admit Captain Hara into the bay. She headed over to the console where Soral was standing. "Status?"

"We are ready to start the simulation, Captain," Soral responded. "Computer, play program Soral 001. Access code Soral alpha theta two two one."

"Playing program Soral 001," the computer replied. The walls of the Holodeck transformed into Main Engineering. Engineering was small on a ship this size. A narrow corridor with four consoles opened up to the warp core. Very few people were on duty at a time, keeping the overall crew compliment down to a modest eighty. In the simulation, Soral's device was connected to one of the displays in the warp core bay and no one was manning any of the other stations.

Soral walked over to the device and started fiddling with the controls. "Computer, start recording. Turning the device on, now."

Nothing on the inside of the bay happened. Hara tapped her foot impatiently. "Computer, status of the simulation?"

The computer replied, "Shields are still online and functioning. No function detected from device."

Hara sighed. "Mr. Soral, please let me know when the cloak actually works." She turned on her heel and walked out of the bay.

* * *

Lieutenant Junior Grade Lucas Ryan hated the night shift. Being the shift supervisor, he was responsible for not only his Helmsman duties but for keeping the ship and crew alive. On a larger starship, he would only have to do one job at a time, not both. Science and Engineering stations remained empty but two crewmen from the Operations Division were manning Tactical and Operations.

"Lieutenant, there is a shadow on the sensors," the crewman at Operations reported.

Ryan turned to face her. "What kind of shadow?"

"I don't know. It's gone now. Looks almost like a cloaked ship," the crewman said nervously. She was clearly new to the job, much like most of the crew aboard the Astra.

"Log it. If it shows up again, let me know." Ryan resumed his work, not thinking twice about the shadow again. He had work to do and nothing was more important than that.

* * *

"First, relieve your man at Tactical," Luaran 2 ordered the Jem'Hadar First. "He almost gave away our position."

First nodded and escorted the man off of the bridge.

Luaran 2 tapped her fingers on the console. The Dominion had ordered them out of Federation space two hours before but she had ignored the transmission. She wanted to know what this ship was up to and she wasn't leaving until she did.

* * *

Lieutenant Asath Peles clicked the door chime outside of Cody Rogers's quarters. The door slid open and Peles was surprised to see Nikki Taylor and Chris Thomas sitting next to each other on Rogers's couch, as if nothing had happened in the last couple of months. Thomas's arm was slung loosley behind her on the couch.

Rogers was not the most organized individual and his quarters showed it. His bed was unmade and clothes were spilling out of the drawers. Peles had to navigate his way around the scattered items to get to the couch.

Peles looked right at Thomas. "Surprised to see you here, Commander."

"I'm the one who called this," Thomas explained. He patted the spot on the other side of him. Peles obliged and sat down.

"So why are we here, Commander?" Peles asked.

"You don't have to call me Commander. We aren't on duty."

"Not like you have been spending much time with us since the promotion," Taylor retorted. Peles could tell that she was still bitter toward him for essentially ignoring them all and then breaking things off with her.

Thomas shrugged and slowly removed his arm. "What do you guys expect me to do? Have the crew see me fraternizing with certain members of the crew but not all? I have to remain a respectful distance and have an equal relationship with all of the crew. The Captain is counting on me to complete accurate crew evaluations. I cannot be biased."

Rogers, who had remained silent up until this point, spoke up. "Doesn't mean we can't still be friends."

Taylor nodded in agreement. "So why did you want to get together? And why are we in this pigsty?" Taylor scrunched her nose at the dirty uniform shirt slung across the arm of her side of the couch.

"Sorry about the mess," Rogers said, getting up to clean things up. "I wasn't expecting company."

"I don't want anyone to know that we are having this meeting," Thomas explained.

Peles exhaled sharply. "So now you don't even want anyone else knowing that we were all friends."

Thomas shook his head. "No. Because I don't want the Captain to know that we are meeting like this."

Peles tilted his antenna in Thomas's direction and raised his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"Nikki came to talk to me yesterday about the tetryons."

Peles and Rogers both shot Taylor a look. Clearly, they didn't want Thomas to know about their conversation and clearly they didn't know that she had been talking to him privately.

Taylor gave them a look right back. "If we think that Hara and Soral are building a cloak, we need someone with more rank to help us find the information we need. And we can trust you, right Chris?" Taylor sounded hopeful.

Thomas nodded in agreement. "I did some digging. I contacted someone I know who was involved with the Pegasus incident in 2358."

"We have heard the rumors," Rogers confirmed. "Are any of them true?"

"Yes. Their crew was building a cloak but not just any cloak. A multiphasic cloak. The ship was abandoned once the cloak malfunctioned. The Pegasus was found embedded in an asteroid. Pretty much all hands were lost. There were people half-encased in rock. Starfleet has been covering it up for years."

Taylor's jaw dropped in horror. "Were they using tetryons and stabilizer units?"

Thomas nodded.

"So what are we going to do? We can't let that happen to us or let them break the treaty. With the overthrow of the Romulan government, we can't be sure how the Romulans would react to this if it got out," Rogers said.

"Exactly. But we don't know how embedded into Starfleet this order was. Is Hara only reporting to one Admiral or are all of them involved? Based on her service record, I don't believe she would be doing this of her own accord," Thomas replied.

"I agree," Peles began. "We can't start a mutiny without gathering information first. We don't even have proof that she is building a cloak, regardless of what kind."

Thomas nodded in agreement. "That's why we have to gather information. So here's the plan. Nikki, I want you to offer help to Soral. As Operations Officer, it wouldn't be out of character for you to offer to help with the newly acquired equipment. Cody, you are the type of officer that can be at any place at any time without question. I want you to field Lieutenant Ryan and Ensign Merra. What do they know? We need to know what side they would be on if a mutiny would happen."

"I don't know about Luke. He always has been driven by his own interests. I have a feeling that he will go with whatever side has the better chance. I should be the one to talk to him," Taylor added.

"Either way, it's worth a try. Be discreet with Merra, Cody. Asath, originally I wanted you to stay distant so that if rumors would spread, we could have a surprise member to this group. However, everyone knows how close you all are. So, Asath, I want you to monitor any tetryon outputs. We need to know where this device is going to be built."

"What about you?" Rogers asked.

"I'm going to see if the Captain can give me access to the mission information."


	5. Chapter 5

Captain's Log, Stardate 531134.8. Soral has informed me that his simulations are running better and better after each test. He has assured me that the device will be functioning shortly and will be ready for real tests soon.

Ensign Merra busied herself at her work station in the Astrophysics Lab. She had been taking readings from the anomaly that the ship had encountered days before. She was just now able to sort through her data. Being on the Senior Staff was more difficult than she had previously thought, especially as a first year Ensign. Not only was she responsible for conducting the scientific students but for monitoring the work of the enlisted scientists as well as completing mountains of reports.

The doors behind her whisked open. She wondered who could it possibly be as she was the only one scheduled to work in this lab during the shift. Lieutenant Junior Grade Cody Rogers, Chief of Security, approached her. Like many of the other male members of the crew, his eyes instantly scanned over her Orion physique. She knew he wasn't doing it to be rude but it still made her uncomfortable.

Rogers immediately readjusted his glance to her face. "Good afternoon, Ensign," he said politely.

Merra stood slightly at attention. "What can I do for you, sir?" Merra wanted to make a good impression, considering their last conversation didn't fare too well. Rogers and the rest had clearly been ignoring her since their encounter in the Mess Hall.

Rogers took up a chair next to her and ran his hand through his light brown hair. "How is your adjustment to the Astra?" he asked.

"Fairly good, sir," she replied.

"I'm glad. I know we aren't Galaxy class or Sovereign class and we don't get all the glory, but we have a close crew. Make sure to be a part of that," Rogers commented.

Merra swallowed. Had he realized how wary she was of everyone? She wanted to push past the Orion slave girl stereotype and part of that was being confident but not getting too close to anyone. Then there was the fact that she was normally socially awkward and had alienated half of the senior staff because of her big mouth. She would have to re-evaluate her relationship with other members of the crew and heed his advice. Merra so desperately wanted to fit in on the Astra.

"Are we all this young, sir?"

"Some of us are older mentally, especially after that last meeting with the Jem'Hadar," Rogers revealed. "But, yes, most of us are young. We aren't a first choice ship and we have a lot of officers assigned here to experience being a senior officer before they have a position on bigger ships like the Enterprise."

Merra nodded slowly. "All due respect but is there anything else you would like to discuss, sir? I would like to return to my research."

"Yes, actually there is. The tetryons...do you know what we are using them for?" Rogers asked.

"No clue. I have only been taking scans of the anomaly that we found them in. I was just actually getting to the data. We collected quite a bit."

Rogers came over to her and her heart started to race. Apparently she found him just as attractive as he found her. "I am unfamiliar with how they work. Can you explain it to me?" he asked.

Merra turned to face him. "Tetryons are subatomic particles and can only exist in subspace environments, hence why we needed to find a quantum singularity. The stabilizer unit helps to prevent them to become too energetic and unstable. It's a miracle we found them. They are very hard to detect in their natural environment."

"So we can detect them off of Romulan Warships because they are artificial. What purpose do they serve for things other than for Romulan cloaking devices?"

Merra thought for a second. "You know, I have no idea."

"Huh," Rogers mumbled. "I wonder what they are using them for."

"I don't know. Hopefully not a cloaking device. That would be illegal on so many levels."

Rogers smiled at her. She had said exactly what he wanted to hear.

* * *

Lieutenant Junior Nikki Taylor entered Main Engineering on Deck 7. She had reported first to the bridge and Lieutenant Peles had given her the signal that it was clear for her to go implement her part of Chris Thomas's plan. However, Soral was nowhere to be seen in Main Engineering.

Taylor approached one of the engineers who was working at the first console. "Technician, have you seen Lieutenant Commander Soral?"

The technician shook his head no and went back to his work.

Taylor clicked her combadge. "Taylor to Soral."

"Soral, here."

"Are you available to meet, sir?"

"Of course, Lieutenant. Meet me in my office."

Taylor headed back into the corridor, entered the turbolift and went to the Chief Engineer's Office on Deck 6. Shortly after, Lieutenant Commander Soral came bounding up the corridor. He released the controls to the office and the pair headed inside.

"What can I do for you, Lieutenant?" Soral asked, sitting up straight in his chair. His office was a picture of perfection, not an object out of place. The same could be said for his appearance. His short dark hair was perfectly groomed and there wasn't a single wrinkle on his uniform.

"I was wondering if you needed any help with the mission. I figured you might not be able to utilize members of your engineering team due to sensitivity of the mission but as a member of the Senior Staff, I might be able to asisst-"

Soral interrupted her. "That will not be necessary. If that is all, Lieutenant, I must be getting back to work."

Taylor turned on her heels and headed out the door. She had never heard a Vulcan interrupt like that before.

* * *

Once Taylor returned to the bridge, she gave Peles a sharp head shake. Clearly, her part of the mission failed, as expected. On a normal starship, the person in charge of a duty shift would be focusing only on the ship. However, on a ship the size of the Astra, that isn't always the case. Peles was expected to lead the shift as well as be responsible for his duties at the Tactical station. Normally, it was a hindrance but today, it was working in their favor.

Normally, the operations position was where internal scans would be accessed but Taylor didn't need to draw suspicion after her conversation with Soral. Peles inputted the command to complete a level one tactical diagnostic of the ship and started scanning.

Peles focused on Decks 6 and 7. Soral had to be working close to Engineering or his office in order to maintain discretion. There was a compartment on Deck 7 that appeared empty however there was a high power output radiating off of it. Peles tried focusing in but the scans still revealed that there was nothing there. He couldn't pinpoint the actual type of energy but the closest he could determine was a quantum energy source that could possibly be tetryons. Peles downloaded the information onto a padd. Thomas would be very interested in this.

* * *

The next morning, Taylor set out to talk with Lieutenant Junior Grade Luke Ryan. Hopefully, the daily routine that he had in the Academy was still the same. Ryan would stay up all night, go to classes and then sleep in the early evening. She figured that after the night shift, he would be in the mess hall or the gymnasium. She guessed the gymnasium.

Sure enough, Ryan was on the treadmill. At the sight of her, Ryan gave her a big cocky smile and pointed at the treadmill next to him.

Taylor stepped up onto the treadmill and started off at a light jog.

"I was wondering when you were going to come talk to me. It has been weeks since we left spacedock," Ryan huffed.

"Trust me, that was intentional."

Ryan gave a short laugh. "Yeah well can't necessarily blame ya. We didn't exactly part ways nicely."

"That's one way of putting it."

"I suppose it is."

The two jogged in silence for a couple of minutes. "How is your adjustment on board?" Taylor asked.

"Not too bad. Better than my last assignment."

"Which was.."

"I was the helmsman of a dinky little Miranda-class ship that was so close to retirement that they didn't even bother putting us on the front lines of the Dominion War. We were part of Earth's guard," Ryan laughed.

"And our current mission?"

"What mission? All we have been doing are science experiments and staring out the viewscreen at Bajor. To me it is the same boring stuff. I wish I could be at the front lines of the action on the Enterprise or something."

"So you have no interest in what we are doing here?"

"I mean, a little."

"What do you think we are using the tetryons for?" Taylor inquired.

"I honestly don't care what we are using them for. An order's an order."

"Even if it hurts others?"

"Yeah. I am a strong supporter of the needs of the one over the needs of the many. I'm sure pointy ear Soral would disagree," Ryan laughed.

Taylor nodded. "I guess that you haven't changed."

"Neither have you. Rumor has it you and Commander were... close. I guess you really like us flyboys." Ryan stepped off the treadmill and wiped sweat off of his brow. "See ya later, Nik."

* * *

Soral inputted the commands into the holodeck simulator. The interior of the Astra's Main Engineering materialized in front of him. "Computer," he commanded. "Start recording Simulation 57."

"Recording started."

"Raising shields."

Soral walked over to the device and turned it on. "Computer, engage cloak. Sensor readings to the console behind me." He studied the schematics. The cloak was functioning.

He had done it.


	6. Chapter 6

Lieutenant Commander Christopher Thomas, slipped around the corner of the hallway on Deck 2. He watched a crewman turn around the next bend and he dashed for Taylor's quarters. Without bothering to ring the chim, he entered the room.

Peles and Rogers were already there, waiting for his arrival. Taylor was out of uniform, her blonde hair piled on top of her head in a bun. She was slung across the armchair while Peles leaned against the wall and Rogers lounged on the couch.

"Anything to report?" Thomas asked him, making himself comfortable on Taylor's couch. He had spent many times here in the previous year. She hadn't changed a thing. Her stuff was still neatly organized on the shelves and her bed was made. Pictures of her family dotted the walls and surfaces

Rogers nodded. "I think that if Ensign Merra is forced to choose she will protect the Treaty of Algeron. She even mentioned that she hopes we are not building a cloaking device."

"Did you fish for that?" Taylor asked.

"No, she brought it up."

"Ryan won't help us. He is too absorbed with himself that wouldn't dare go against the Captain if it would mean him losing rank," Taylor added.

"Peles?" Thomas inquired.

"There is a compartment on Deck 7 that the Computer reads as being empty. However, whoever tampered with the Computer couldn't make up for the fact that the energy output of the cloak would be extremely high. The Computer can't completely cover that up," Peles reported. "All of the data is on this PADD."

"Who has the ability to do that?" Rogers asked.

Peles and Thomas exchanged a look. Peles clasped his hands firmly together and looked Rogers dead in the eye. "There are only four people on this ship that have clearance, let alone ability," Peles explained. "Soral, Hara, Chris and I are the only ones with high enough security codes. Hara doesn't have the skill to do it. From what I understand, she has been in the command track her entire career. She was more administrative than technical."

"So that leaves us with Soral."

"I did have the chance to talk to him. When he was on shift, he wasn't in Main Engineering or his office. He denied me when I asked if he needed help. He even interrupted me, which I found strange," Taylor said.

"Soral, Hara and Dr. T'Meni all served together...do you think she could be involved?" Rogers asked.

Thomas shook his head. "No, I don't believe so. There is no reason for her to be involved. I don't even have clearance to have access for the mission objective, let alone the specifics, so I highly doubt that a medical doctor would."

"Which means that clearly this is highly confidential. Who knows how high in Starfleet this reaches," Rogers clarified.

"For all we know, this is only under the direction of one admiral in one obscure department or it is from the Starfleet Intelligence or even the Grand Admiral himself," Thomas said.

"How did your conversation with Hara go?" Taylor asked.

"Haven't had the opportunity to have one. I will when the time comes."

"So what are we going to do next?" Peles asked.

"It has been two weeks since we got that stabilizer unit and the tetryons. I would imagine with Soral's engineering capabilities that he is close to completion. He may be one man but he is highly effective. I will confront Captain Hara once the time arises," Thomas explained.

"So a mutiny?"

Thomas sighed, "I guess you could call it that."

"The majority of the crew will side with you, at least the old crew. The new people are wild cards," Rogers said confidently.

"I hope you are right, Cody."

Peles stood up and clasped his hands together. "Well, if you'd excuse me, I am due at the armory. I told the officer on duty that I would help him realign the phaser arrays. Chris, I will be at your side when the time comes." Peles headed out the door.

As soon as Peles left, Rogers too excused himself and left. Thomas and Taylor sat awkwardly in silence.

"So how do you know Lieutenant Ryan?" Thomas asked. He couldn't help it but he was feeling slightly jealous.

"Academy boyfriend," Taylor said curtly.

"I take it that it didn't end well?"

Taylor glared at him. "He cheated on me so I dumped him. Haven't looked back."

Thomas scouched closer to her. "It must be hard for you to work with him then," he sympathized.

"Not as hard as working with you," she admitted. "He and I weren't serious."

"You know why I had to do it, right?" Thomas said.

Taylor ignored him.

"I miss you Nikki."

"You don't get to miss me. You ended it with me," Taylor said angrily.

"Yeah, I know. And.." Thomas trailed off.

"And what?"

He met her eyes. "I regret it." Thomas reached his hand toward her and cupped her face. "I still love you, Nikki." He pulled her in and kissed her softly.

* * *

"Senior staff, report to the bridge."

Thomas bolted upright. Taylor was still sleeping soundly next to him, cocooned in the sheets. He touched her lightly on the shoulder. "Nikki, wake up."

Taylor groaned and rolled over.

"Nikki, we got to report to the bridge." Thomas stood up and started to pull on his uniform. "I'll go first. You get there about five minutes later." He stuck his head out the door before leaving, checking to see if anyone was there. Rumors weren't not needed at a time like this.

Thomas quickly walked down the corridors, processing what had happened the night before. He hadn't meant to rekindle things with Taylor but being with her was always so easy; he had slipped back into old habits.

Once on the bridge, Thomas took his chair next to Hara. Peles was already at Tactical and Rogers was on the bridge, at the back display. Merra was next to him, at the science displays. Ryan was piloting the ship and Soral was standing next to the Captain's chair. Taylor filtered in moments later, assuming her position at Operations.

Hara stood up and addressed the bridge crew. "Anyone who is not a member of the senior staff is ordered to leave."

Several crewmen filtered out.

"Now, what is going to happen is highly confidential. You are to discuss this with no one," Hara said. Peles and Taylor exchanged a look. "Mr. Ryan, set a course away from Bajor and engage at warp 5. Take us two or three lightyears out. Lieutenant Taylor, check sensors. Make sure no one is in sensor range. Mr. Peles, raise the shields."

Thomas checked the readings on the display mounted on his chair. They were leaving the Bajoran sector. The ship came down from warp and halted.

"No one is in sensor range, Captain," Taylor reported.

"Mr. Soral, status?"

"The device is ready for testing, Captain," Soral said matter-of-factly.

"What is this device, Captain?" Thomas inquired.

Hara ignored him. "Commander Soral, power up the cloak."

Thomas froze for a minute, weighing his options. He had one chance to do this right. The majority of the crew on the bridge were already pledged to his cause. He had to believe that the others would follow. And if they didn't, hopefully his court marshall would be quick and painless. "Belay that, Commander," he said, taking a chance.

Everyone froze and the energy on the bridge became tense.

Hara glared at Thomas. "I gave an order. Soral, power up the cloak."

Soral moved to activate the cloak.

"Lieutenant Taylor, cut power to the device," Thomas ordered, his eyes never leaving Hara.

Taylor's hands quickly swept across her controls. "There is no more power to the device, sir."

"Commander Thomas and Lieutenant Taylor, you are relieved of duty until further notice due to disobeying orders. Lieutenant Rogers, please escort them to their quarters," Hara commanded.

Rogers didn't budge.

Hara turned to Tactical, "Mr. Peles, please relieve Ms. Taylor."

Peles didn't budge.

Thomas stood up, taking command of the situation. "Lieutenant Rogers, please escort Captain Hara to her quarters. She is in violation of the Treaty of Algeron and I am taking command. Anyone who doesn't agree with this decision can head to their quarters or will be escorted to them." No one on the bridge crew moved an inch at his warning.

Before Rogers could escort Hara, Soral's nimble fingers swept across his controls. Power was restored and the crew felt a slight energy wave as the ship slipped into a cloaked state.

Ensign Merra came up to Soral, a phaser in hand. "Step away from the device, Commander."

Soral froze. If a Vulcan could be surprised, he certainly was. However, he obliged and backed away from the control panel. It was illogical not to. Peles darted across the bridge to the controls and powered it down.

"Lieutenant Rogers and Ensign Merra, please escort them off the bridge and confine them to the brig. I don't want something like that to happen again," Thomas said.

Rogers, Merra, Soral and Hara exited the bridge. Thomas had just executed one of the few mutinies in Starfleet history and so far had been successful at it.

"Lieutenant Taylor, open a channel to the crew." He waited for Taylor's nodd. "This is Lieutenant Commander Thomas. As of now, I am relieving Captain Hara and am taking command of the Astra due to her and Lieutenant Commander Soral breaking the Treaty of Algeron with the illegal use of a cloaking device. Anyone who disagrees should return to quarters until we reach Earth."

Taylor closed the channel and turned to face Thomas. "Your orders, Captain?"

Thomas took the Captain's chair. "Inform Lieutenant Fuller that she is now acting Chief Engineer and contact Lieutenant Rogers, I want that cloak personally guarded by him and his most trustworthy men. Peles, please note in the log the events that just transpired. Lieutenant Ryan, set a course for Earth, maximum warp."

At first Ryan didn't obey as if he was deciding on whether or not he wanted to be confined to his quarters. Finally, he inputted the course and said "Course laid in, warp 8."

"Engage."

* * *

Luaran 2 stared at the Federation ship in awe. It had just cloaked with its shields on and then came back into visibility. If the Dominion would attempt another war with the Federation, this would give them an undecided advantage. This also could be them preparing to invade Dominion territory. Furiously, she turned to First. "Lock weapons on that ship! I want it destroyed."


	7. Chapter 7

Hara and Soral sat side by side in the brig together. "Commander Thomas's reaction was illogical, Captain. My predictions noted that Commander Thomas was 98 percent loyal to whatever Captain he served," Soral justified.

"In my thirty years of Starfleet I have never once had a first officer relieve me of my command nor have I ever had a crew so willing to defy me," Hara said angrily.

"I think we underestimated his connection with the crew."

Hara sighed, "Yeah I suppose we did. This is my mistake, Soral."

"How so?"

"I let you get wrapped up in this. I let myself get wrapped up in this," she sighed. "By now, I should know better to not just assume that all orders by Admirals are worthy to follow. We should never have built that device."

A large impact shook the ship and Hara and Soral both bolted upright. Someone was attacking their ship.

* * *

"Red alert. Damage report?" Thomas called out as another volley of weapons fire hit them. Merra exited the turbolift behind him and assumed her position at the Science station.

"Minimal damage. No effect on the shields," Taylor called out.

"Lieutenant Taylor, where is that ship?"

"Jem'Hadar ship, four hundred meters and closing, sir." Everyone tensed on the Bridge, the veterans of the Astra remembering their last bloody encounter with the Dominion.

"Open a channel to the enemy ship."

"Channel open, sir," Taylor called out.

"Dominion ship, this is Captain Christopher Thomas of the USS Astra. You are in Federation space. Cease fire or we will retaliate."

There was no response.

Thomas shifted into battle mode. "Mr. Peles, power the phasers and arm the torpedoes. Aim for their weapons. I want them defenseless. Mr. Ryan, evasive maneuvers. I don't want us to take more damage," Thomas ordered. He gripped the arm rests as the ship swiftly swung left.

Another impact shook the ship.

"Shields down to 65 percent, sir," Taylor reported. "Sickbay is reporting casualties."

"Captain, we have taken out their aft phaser arrays."

"Lieutenant Ryan, bring us toward their aft. Mr. Peles, target their shield generator. I want them disabled," Thomas shouted.

The Astra looped mid-air to the back of the Dominion vessel and phasers hit their shield generator, causing a small explosion. The enemy ship turned around and started pounding them.

"Our weapons had little effect on their field generator, sir, but it has taken damage," Peles announced.

"Shields down to 40 percent on the starboard side," Taylor said.

Thomas sat for a moment. The Astra was not capable of outgunning their enemy or outrunning them but they could retreat farther into Federation shape where there would be more ships. "Concentrate all of our weapon power on their engines. Mr. Ryan, be prepared to go to warp on my mark."

Before anyone could react, the Dominion ship hailed them and the Vorta, a woman, appeared on the view screen. "Federation vessel. Surrender your vessel and technology or you will be destroyed." She flickered off the screen as quickly as she had appeared.

"Lieutenant Taylor, how far out is the Defant?"

Weapons fire hit them once again. The main display console exploded at the back of the bridge, sending a crewman flying. Ensign Merra knelt down beside him and bowed her head. Dead.

"Long range communications are down, sir. Shields down to fifteen percent across the ship. Sickbay reporting major casualties," Taylor informed them.

"Peles, target their engines with everything we have. I want them disabled before we go to warp," Thomas said.

"Engineering to Bridge. Captain, the warp engines are taking a beating. If you want warp power, you better get us out of here now."

Thomas leaned forward in his chair. "Mr. Peles, fire. Mr. Ryan set a course for Deep Space 9 at maximum warp. Engage on my mark."

The Astra fired a volley of torpedoes and phasers in quick succession.

"Engines are damaged, sir," Peles reported.

"Now!"

The ship took off at warp.

"Captain, we knocked out one warp nacelle. They are limping behind us," Peles said.

The tension in the room was high. The Astra was flying at warp 7 while the Jem'Hadar were following at warp 5.

"Engineering to Bridge. We took more damage to the nacelles than we had previously thought, sir."

Thomas responded, "Where is Lieutenant Fuller?"

"Lieutenant Fuller is in sickbay, sir. We are severely undermanned; we need help."

"Who do you need?"

There was a pause. "Lieutenant Commander Soral."

* * *

Lieutenant Junior Grade Cody Rogers opened the door to the brig. Debris was scattered all over the floor and power was low but the force field was still in place. He walked over to the controls and turned off the force field. Phaser in hand, he walked over to the doorway.

"Lieutenant Commander Soral, you are needed in Main Engineering," he stated.

Hara looked concerned. "What is the status of the ship? Who attacked us?"

"Lieutenant Commander Soral, you are needed in Main Engineering," Rogers repeated, ignoring Hara completely.

Hara and Soral exchanged a look. She gave him a sharp nod and Soral stepped out of the holding cell. Rogers put the force field back in place and escorted Soral out of the Brig and to Main Engineering.

* * *

Luaran 2 clenched her fists. "I want answers!" she shouted. "How was a science vessel able to damage us?!"

First calmly said, "Apparently, the Nova-class series were refitted with upgrades to their weapons and shields."

"I want full warp power restored! We cannot let them get away!"


	8. Chapter 8

Acting Captain's Log Stardate 53171.2 We have been forced to drop down to Warp 6 and the Dominion Ship is closing. We are almost to Deep Space 9. Lieutenant Taylor almost has our long distance communications array back online.

"Captain, the Dominion ship has matched our speed and is closing rapidly. They are almost in weapons range," Taylor reported. She looked over at Thomas. His face was expressionless.

"They are firing," Peles said. The ship shook.

"We are dropping out of warp, sir," Ryan said, his fingers nimbly running across the controls, trying to keep the ship away from their phasers.

"Helm, pattern alpha omega. Tactical, fire back. Operations, status on the communications array?" Thomas ordered.

"Sir, they have taken out one of our phaser banks and we are unable to load one of our torpedo tubes," Peles shouted.

"Communications array is still not functional, sir. I will need a couple more minutes to get it up and running," Taylor said.

A bulk head exploded above Taylor, shooting her away from her station. Blood trickled down her face and she felt dizzy. Ensign Merra ran down from the back of the bridge and took her station. Taylor pulled herself to the side, pain shooting through her head.

Thomas turned to her, concern all over his face. He mouthed, are you okay? She gave him a quick nod.

"Our shields are gone!" Peles shouted. "Hull breach on Deck 4."

"Seal the breach!"

"Emergency force fields are now in place."

"Engineering reports that we are able to go to warp, sir," Ryan shouted.

"Take us to warp, Lieutenant. Peles continue firing," Thomas responded.

Merra almost jumped up with glee. "Sir, our communications array is online!"

"Send a priority one distress call."

Merra opened a channel. "This is the USS Astra. We are being attacked by a Dominion warship and are on our way to Deep Space 9. We cannot maintain warp much longer. Please send aid."

"Sir, we have managed to get ahead of them again. We are out of weapons range," Peles reported.

Everyone visibly relaxed slightly. They would last a little longer.

* * *

A crewman lifted the debris that was hanging over Merra and shoved it to the side. She was still shaking slightly since that last attack. It was her first battle and it was not going too well.

Lieutenant Taylor was still laying against that wall. She had torn a piece of her uniform off and was pressing it to her head wound. She was still conscious and did not warrant Sickbay's immediate attention so she had decided to stay where she was. She was giving Merra promising looks.

Merra's face scrunched in confusion. "Captain, they are backing off."

Thomas's head whipped over in her direction. "Why?"

A small smile came across Merra's lips. "It's the Defiant, sir. She must have picked us up on sensors. She is dropping out of warp and engaging the enemy vessel."

Relief rushed through Thomas. "Drop us out of warp as well. Signal the Defiant. We will take their lead."

The Astra maneuvered around the Jem'Hadar vessel, their phasers firing at the Dominion's shield generator. The Defiant targeted their engines, preventing them from running. With the combined fire power of the two ships, the enemy did not stand a chance.

Commander Schaefer, the captain of the Defiant, hailed them and his face appeared on the viewscreen. "We will take them into custody and scan the area for any other Dominion ships. Head to Deep Space 9; we will rendezvous with you there."

"Helm, limp us back to Deep Space 9." Thomas stood up abruptly. "Mr. Peles, you have the Conn. I will be in Sickbay."

Thomas walked over to Taylor and helped her up. She appeared grateful and smiled up at Thomas. Merra thought for a moment that maybe all those rumors about them were in fact true.

* * *

Luaran 2 lifted herself off of the floor, blood soaking her shirt. "First!" She called out.

There was no response.

Defeated, Luaran lowered herself to the deck and pulled out her weapon. She set it to kill and pointed it at her chest. Luaran knew that she could trigger the kill sequence in her own body but she did not want to leave a trace of herself for the Federation to find.

"May the Founders guide me."

She pressed the trigger and she vaporized.

* * *

Dr. T'Meni quickly ran a tricorder over an injured crewman. "Damage is minimal. You will have to wait."

The sickbay doors opened and she expected more wounded. Lieutenant Commander Thomas waltzed through the doors with Lieutenant Taylor who was injured with what appeared to be a serious head laceration. Thomas looked worn himself.

"Crewman, lead Lieutenant Taylor over to that biobed. She may have a serious concussion," T'Meni ordered. She moved onto her next patient, an Engineer with severe burns.

"Dr. T'Meni. Casualty report," Thomas said, coming over to where she was standing.

"Three crew members have been pronounced dead. We have forty wounded. Three are seriously injured and will need immediate surgery."

Thomas sighed. This wasn't nearly as bad as their last battle, when the Jem'Hadar had boarded and massacred most of the crew. "Send a medic to the bridge. There are multiple injured crewmen. I also need Lieutenant Taylor taken care of immediately. I want her at her post as soon as possible in case we run into more trouble."

T'Meni turned her head and started to protest about how there were crewmen who needed more medical attention other than Lieutenant Taylor, but he was nowhere in sight. As quickly as he had entered, he was gone.

* * *

Lieutenant Commander Soral raised an eyebrow at Thomas. "We are running on impulse power. We are starting to form a damage report. Warp coils are fine but there is damage to both nacelles. The breach on Deck 4 was not in an essential area and force fields are holding in place."

"So the Astra is repairable?"

"Yes, Captain," Soral replied.

Thomas's face filled with relief. The ship had made it through another battle with the Jem'Hadar and had survived. His face hardened. He still had a problem aboard the ship and he could be facing a court marshall. He turned to Lieutenant Rogers.

"Please have one of your men escort Commander Soral back to the brig once any necessary repairs are complete. Rogers, you are with me," Thomas said, heading to the door. He clicked his combadge. "Lieutenant Peles, please report to Deck 7. We need to enter that compartment."

* * *

Peles, Rogers and Thomas stood in a circle around the device, waiting for the tricorder to confirm their suspicions.

Peles's antenna twitched and he snapped the tricorder shut. "Well, we are not going to go to lose our commission for causing a mutiny without cause. This is definitely a cloaking device."

"Can we determine what kind of cloaking device?" Rogers asked eagerly.

"The scans weren't conclusive but from what I can tell, they were experimenting with a cloak that would work with the shields up. They were using the shields as a projection matrix," Peles explained. He walked over to a computer console and brought up the simulation data. "Commander Soral was successful in his simulations. Apparently the cloak does work."

"Alright, we need to write up reports of our accounts. Tell Nikki to as well. We need to have our facts straight for when we are debriefed," Thomas said.

Rogers looked kind of green. "Do you think we are going to be severely punished for this? I don't know if I can handle a court martial."

"I hope not, Cody. Let's just hope that this isn't too embedded in Starfleet."

* * *

Ayane Hara was shocked to see Thomas standing before her. She was almost angry. She had, after all, trusted him to be her number one. "Well, I can't say that I wasn't expecting you to come visit."

Thomas just stared at her.

"I suppose you want to know how a respected Starfleet Captain who played everything by the book broke one of the Federation's most important treaties."

"That would be a good start."

"Commander, once you get to my point, you start feeling comfortable with where you are. I served on the Gemini for years. I wanted her to be my final ship. But then, the Dominion War happened and we weren't just patrolling the Neutral Zone. We were sent to the front lines. We started losing people and we lost the ship. Everything around me was falling apart."

"How does this affect your decision making? Breaking a treaty with one of our most powerful neighbors isn't something that happens over one split-second decision."

Hara sat down on the cell bench and clasped her hands together. "I was falling apart and I knew I needed Starfleet to keep me sane. I knew this mission was wrong but I was worried that they would never give me another command like the Gemini."

"You could have told me. We don't know each other very well but you could have told me. I would have helped you think of something else."

"But, I didn't and we can't change that. I am through with Starfleet. They won't give me another ship now regardless. However, I think I can help you."


	9. Chapter 9

"I'm not going to lie to you all. What you did was risky and could have cost you your careers," Admiral Richard Portman started. He walked up and down the line of the Astra's senior staff. Everyone was there, save Soral and Hara.

Taylor was attempting to stay at attention. Her concussion from the bridge explosion was a bad one and was still healing. Once they returned to Deep Space 9, Starfleet had ordered them back to Earth for debriefing. The ship was still a mess but they were able to repair the minor things during their return home. Taylor had been confined to Sickbay.

"However, you were all justified. Admiral Wendy has been relieved of her duties for starting a conspiracy. It turns out, she was working alone." Portman stopped in the middle of the line.

Rogers and Peles were visibly tense. Taylor was leaning slightly on Peles to keep her balance. They were all wondering when Portman would get to the point and tell them whether or not they were also relieved of duty.

"Captain Hara has also been relieved of her command. She has taken full responsibility for what happened aboard the Astra, saving Lieutenant Commander Soral's career in the process as well. I have reassigned Soral to Starfleet Headquarters to keep a close eyes on him which means that a new Chief Engineer will be assigned to the Astra"

"What about the Dominion, sir?" Thomas asked.

"Starfleet has contacted the Dominion and they have assured us that the ship you encountered was a rogue vessel. The Vorta on board had a vendetta against Starfleet for killing a Founder that was hiding in her vessel when it crash landed years ago. Peace has been maintained with the Dominion and war has been averted."

"And the Astra?"

"The Astra is undergoing repairs as we speak and will be ready in a couple weeks. The majority of you have been given shoreleave. New orders will be sent to you soon. Dismissed."

One-by-one, the crew filed out of the Admiral's office. Portman stopped Thomas. "I would like to talk to you alone, Commander."

Thomas stood at attention. "Yes, sir?"

"At ease. After what you did, not many Captains will be willing to have you serve under them." Thomas's mouth opened but Portman put up a hand. "I'm not saying that you didn't make the right call. This would have been a direct breach of the Treaty of Algeron and any first officer would have done the same. We have already dispatched the Enterprise-E to Romulus to explain the situation to the Romulans. Captain Picard believes that there will be a favorable outcome. The last thing that needs to be resolved is the command of the Astra."

Thomas nodded.

"I am hereby giving you a promotion to the full rank of Commander and all of the responsibilities and privileges that come with it. You are still assigned as the Executive Officer of the USS Astra NCC 44872."

"Thank you, sir. Who will be taking command?"

"Captain Vaath will be your commanding officer. His ship was recently decommissioned and he needs a new ship. You will find a little more loyal than Captain Hara. After the Astra is fixed up, you will be given new orders," Portman explained.

"If I may ask sir, what is going to happen to the rest of the crew?"

"Lieutenant Peles, Taylor, Rogers and Ryan, Ensign Merra and Dr. T'Meni will remain assigned to the Astra. I am putting a promotion through for Lieutenant Taylor. When she returns from medical leave, she will have the rank of a full lieutenant. For the Chief Engineer's position, I made a list of Captain Vaath of qualified officers who are between assignments."

Thomas nodded.

"I noticed that you did not take shore leave during the Astra's refit. I am ordering for you to take at least two weeks leave. Enjoy your shore leave, Commander. Your ship will be ready before you know it. Dismissed."

* * *

"I figured you would be stopping by," Taylor said, letting Thomas into her quarters. She was packing her things for shore leave. Debris was scattered across her bed and the pictures on the walls were askew. She was already dressed in civilian clothes.

"I assume that you have heard about your promotion. Congratulations Lieutenant," Thomas smiled. "The Astra is lucky to have you."

"Same to you, Commander." Taylor walked back over to her drawers and started to fill her duffel. "You here to end things with me again?"

Thomas groaned. "You never make this easy for me Nikki. I don't want to do this but I am still above you in the chain of command and am your direct supervisor. I can't fraternize with the crew."

"Yeah, I know. I understand that now," Taylor said.

"Are you going to request a transfer? I would understand if you did. It won't be easy reporting to me, not after everything."

"No...I believe that my place is here. She's the only ship I have ever known and she has been good to me."

"Then, I will see you in a couple weeks, Nik," Thomas said, turning toward the door.

"I still love you, Chris," she called out after him.

Thomas didn't look back and left her quarters.

* * *

Cody Rogers pushed a fallen bulkhead away. He and Peles had returned to the Bridge to close everything down before entering spacedock. "Hey, Asath, you gotta come see this."

Peles stepped over the wreckage and crossed over to him. In Rogers's hand was the ship's plaque. Under the insignia, was a list of every Captain that had served on the ship.

"We will have to get this re engraved, don't you think?" Rogers asked with a grin on his face.

"Three captains in one year...there will be talk that we are cursed," Peles mentioned.

Rogers shook his head. "No, I think we are lucky. We have made it through so much but we are still in one piece. We are strong. Anyone will be lucky to serve on our ship."


End file.
